1. EXTRACT RELEVANT INFORMATION FROM A RANGE OF SOURCES AND EVALUATE AND DRAW CONCLUSIONS ABOUT ARTEFACTS, FILMS OR IMAGES IN RELATIONSHIP TO ANIMATION PRODUCTION AND THE SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF SHORT CREATIVE AND TECHNICAL ANIMATION EXERCISES THAT SHOW KNOWLEDGE & UNDERSTANDING OF THE PRINCIPLES OF ANIMATION.
4 - Analysis

2. CREATE A PERSONAL LEARNING PORTFOLIO WHICH INCLUDES EXAMPLES OF PRACTICAL BASED SKILLS – TRADITIONAL & DIGITAL IN CREATION.
2 - Learning

3. EMPLOY THEORY, DESIGN AND PRACTICE BASED SOLUTIONS IN ORDER TO SUCCESSFULLY RESOLVE THE PROJECT BRIEF.
7 - Application

4. USE A RANGE OF VISUAL AND WRITTEN CONVENTIONS TO SOLVE CREATIVE PROBLEMS CLEARLY, CONSISELY AND TO A PROFESSIONAL STANDARD.
5 – Problem Solving

Students will be expected to attend all module sessions in order to benefit from the delivery and understanding of new material, gain understanding of module expectations / tasks and to engage in weekly peer-to-peer and tutor feedback.

Work-in-progress will be reviewed weekly for FORMATIVE* discussion and feedback.

On submission of your PRINCIPLES PORTFOLIO in the final week of the module you will receive SUMMATIVE** feedback.

The Principles Portfolio is an online portfolio submission of completed technical & creative exercises clearly demonstrating strong understanding and application of the Principles of Animation.
Exercises will be created in both traditional and digital methods of animation production.
[Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 3,4]

All students will be expected to submit Portfolios for assessment via the professional video-sharing platform Vimeo (www.vimeo.com)
‘Vimeo Basic’ is a fee-free service which allows individuals to upload a total of 5GB – and so will be sufficient for the module needs. Please see module handbook for further details. It is expected that you will understand digital formats for submission of digital work.

*Formative feedback is a method used to help us monitor student learning and progression. It is often informal and can be delivered by Tutors or peer-to-peer, in a number of forms.
Formative discussion is used as a method to give ongoing feedback throughout the course that you can use to improve your learning and understanding of the module content as well as help identify strengths and weaknesses or areas that might need greater focus.

**Summative feedback is usually given at the end of the module and is used to evaluate your overall learning and understanding compared to the module learning outcomes and our course benchmarks. Summative feedback is usulaly written but can be given in a number of forms.

To understand how we breathe life into animated characters – be it through pencil, puppet or pixel - we must first understand the 12 Core Principles of Animation:

- Squash & Stretch
- Anticipation
- Staging
- Straight Ahead Action & Pose To pose
- Follow Through & Overlapping Action
- Slow-In & Slow-Out
- Arc
- Secondary Action
- Timing
- Exaggeration
- Solid Drawing
- Appeal

An understanding of the Principles of Animation – as introduced in the book ‘The Illusion of Life’ – will allow you to acquire a fundamental set of skills that you will use throughout your career as an Animator.

Through a focused 12-week programme of lectures, creative and technical tasks we will explore the uses, context and application of the 12 Core Principles of Animation in theory and practise.

The module will introduce you to:
• a range of basic animation production methods – traditional and digital
• the acquisition of a fundamental set of skills and understanding of character-related motion and performance
• basic Animation historical context
• the establishing of Industry-facing practises – including: basic production planning, Thumbnailing, the uses of the LAV and basic motion analysis etc.

The Principles Portfolio module intends to prepare you with pre-requisite skills that will enable you to develop Animation techniques and content at intermediate level and further.

This module content is designed to progress in parallel with below course modules where content and wider-learning opportunities are highlighted and Dove-Tailed:
STORY ART PORTFOLIO
DRAWING FOR ANIMATION: 1

A series of supporting Technical Instruction sessions (T.I.’s) will also be available to all students to further promote individual learning, knowledge and understanding of Technical software.

Through weekly lectures and relating practical exercises you will be introduced to historical and contemporary practice in animation and other creative practices throughout the 20th & 21st centuries.

The study period will be focused on the development of a series of Animated exercises and motion studies showing application of Disney's ‘12 Core Principles of Animation’, demonstrating how traditional drawn animation influences and supports digital methodology.
Through the module you will be required to demonstrate your understanding and application of the core concepts required to develop animation production skills that you will require throughout the award and your future career.
Traditional and digital tools will be available to use throughout the module and students should explore a range of production techniques appropriate to the given task.

Your work will be supported by online resources from a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) providing resources for study. As the majority of completed work is submitted digitally this is an integral part of learning on the course.

Students will also have access to a range of video tutorials from online learning resource providers.

Group critique and discussion will support your studio practice through weekly formative evaluation and will take place throughout the module as well as at critical points of the semester to review your working progress. Students are expected to engage in this process as part of the module feedback cycle.
Summative assessment takes place at the end of the module where digital / online portfolios will be presented for final assessment.

Where required, booking of equipment and facilities may be necessary by the student.

ON-LINE READING LISTS WILL BE UPDATED ANNUALLY.
THIS IS AN INDICATION OF REFERENCE TEXTS REQUIRED FOR 2019-20 ONLY.

Crafton D. (1993): 'Before Mickey: The Animated Film 1898 to 1928', University of Chicago Press.

Thomas F. & Johnston O. (1997): ‘The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation’, Hyperion

White T. (1988): ‘The Animator's Workbook’, Watson-Guptill Publications

White, T. (2006) ‘Animation: from Pencils to Pixels’, Focal Press

Whittaker H. & Hales J. (2009): ‘Timing for Animation’, Focal Press

Williams R. (2009): ‘The Animator's Survival Kit’, Faber & Faber

Links:
www.vimeo.com

12 Core Principles as Illustrated through Disney: https://ohmy.disney.com/movies/2016/07/20/twelve-principles-animation-disney/

Animation Studio facilities.
2D line testers and light-boxes.
A3 scanners.
Digital Animation Suite – Toon Boom Harmony. Storyboard Pro. Autodesk Maya. Adobe Photoshop, Premiere, After Effects.
Seminar / Lecture room with projector.
Stop Motion Animation studios – Dragon Frame. Canon SLR digital cameras. Lighting.
VLE: Blackboard / Digital Tutors / Lynda.com / other supporting Online resources
Vimeo.com – to be used for display and submission of completed work.

University Library resources: http://www.staffs.ac.uk/uniservices/infoservices/library/
Reference books / DVD collection / Journals and periodicals (physical & online)

The Principles Portfolio module intends to prepare you with pre-requisite skills that will enable you to develop Animation techniques and content at intermediate level and further. Through a focused 12-week programme of lectures, creative and technical tasks we will explore the uses, context and application of the 12 Core Principles of Animation in theory and practise.